It has become a commonly repeatedly claim, but according to the few polls conducted on the subject anti-vaccination sentiment is spread pretty much evenly across the political spectrum. One poll in 2009 asked people if they were aware of Jenny McCarthy's anti-vax views and whether it made them more likely to question question vaccine safety broke down as Liberals (41% not aware, 38 % aware but not more likely, 21 % aware and more likely); Moderates (48 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 24 % aware and more likely); Conservatives (49 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 23 % aware and more likely).

A Pew poll from that same year asked whether childhood vaccination should be required or be left up to the parents. 69% of Americans thought they should be required (vs 82% of scientists), while 28% would leave it to parental choice (vs 17% of scientists). Self-identified Republicans and Democrats both were at 71% on the side of should be required with Independents at 67%. 26% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats thought it should be optional with 30% of Independents favoring parental choice.

It has become a commonly repeatedly claim, but according to the few polls conducted on the subject anti-vaccination sentiment is spread pretty much evenly across the political spectrum. One poll in 2009 asked people if they were aware of Jenny McCarthy's anti-vax views and whether it made them more likely to question question vaccine safety broke down as Liberals (41% not aware, 38 % aware but not more likely, 21 % aware and more likely); Moderates (48 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 24 % aware and more likely); Conservatives (49 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 23 % aware and more likely).

A Pew poll from that same year asked whether childhood vaccination should be required or be left up to the parents. 69% of Americans thought they should be required (vs 82% of scientists), while 28% would leave it to parental choice (vs 17% of scientists). Self-identified Republicans and Democrats both were at 71% on the side of should be required with Independents at 67%. 26% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats thought it should be optional with 30% of Independents favoring parental choice.

This fits with the people in my circle. They all seem to be conspiracy aficionados as well.

unyon:God Is My Co-Pirate: Eh, there are plenty of hippie "medicine is just the Man conning you, chemicals are all evil, use natural products and you can never die!" tools out there too. Morans be morans.

The difference is that the left doesn't elect their morans.

Then how do you explain Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asking NASA if the Mars Pathfinder rover photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong planted?

dittybopper:unyon: God Is My Co-Pirate: Eh, there are plenty of hippie "medicine is just the Man conning you, chemicals are all evil, use natural products and you can never die!" tools out there too. Morans be morans.

The difference is that the left doesn't elect their morans.

Then how do you explain Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asking NASA if the Mars Pathfinder rover photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong planted?

Or Hank Johnson, who asked if placing too many troops on Guam would cause the island to capsize.

sweetmelissa31:PreMortem: Don't know any vaccine rejecting people but assumed they were fundies/conservatives.

I personally know one liberal who is anti-vaccine, but in Congress it seems to be the conservatives (like Michelle Bachmann who claimed that vaccines cause kids to be retarded).

Demographically, while the data is somewhat sparse, it appears that anti-VAXers are split between both sides of the aisle politically, but interestingly the majority of kids who don't get vaccinated on purpose come from above average socioeconomic statuses, and their parents are more highly educated than normal.

dittybopper:unyon: God Is My Co-Pirate: Eh, there are plenty of hippie "medicine is just the Man conning you, chemicals are all evil, use natural products and you can never die!" tools out there too. Morans be morans.

The difference is that the left doesn't elect their morans.

Then how do you explain Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asking NASA if the Mars Pathfinder rover photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong planted?

Shostie:dittybopper: unyon: God Is My Co-Pirate: Eh, there are plenty of hippie "medicine is just the Man conning you, chemicals are all evil, use natural products and you can never die!" tools out there too. Morans be morans.

The difference is that the left doesn't elect their morans.

Then how do you explain Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asking NASA if the Mars Pathfinder rover photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong planted?

Or Hank Johnson, who asked if placing too many troops on Guam would cause the island to capsize.

Or Ted Kennedy, who wanted to ban the .30-30 Winchester because it was an armor-piercing cop-killer round and as such not suitable for sporting use. :

"Another rifle caliber, the 30.30 caliber, was responsible for penetrating three officers' armor and killing them in 1993, 1996, and 2002. This ammunition is also capable of puncturing light-armored vehicles, ballistic or armored glass, armored limousines, even a 600-pound safe with 600 pounds of safe armor plating.

God Is My Co-Pirate:dittybopper: unyon: God Is My Co-Pirate: Eh, there are plenty of hippie "medicine is just the Man conning you, chemicals are all evil, use natural products and you can never die!" tools out there too. Morans be morans.

The difference is that the left doesn't elect their morans.

Then how do you explain Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asking NASA if the Mars Pathfinder rover photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong planted?

Oh god, I did not know about that and now I'm terrified.

Even better: Her chief-of-staff wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that pointing out her mistake was racist, because she's black.

Sybarite:It has become a commonly repeatedly claim, but according to the few polls conducted on the subject anti-vaccination sentiment is spread pretty much evenly across the political spectrum. One poll in 2009 asked people if they were aware of Jenny McCarthy's anti-vax views and whether it made them more likely to question question vaccine safety broke down as Liberals (41% not aware, 38 % aware but not more likely, 21 % aware and more likely); Moderates (48 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 24 % aware and more likely); Conservatives (49 % not aware, 28 % aware but not more likely, 23 % aware and more likely).

So on one hand we have one ignorant belief that is wholly own by the right, and on the other we have an ignorant belief shared equally across parties, but we can point to some lefties that believe it, so both sides are bad really.

SkinnyHead:Science welcomes debate. People who try to shut down debate and demand that everyone accept the "consensus" are the ones who are anti-science.

Difficulty, the debate has to fit within the framework of the scientific method.

The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov

The anti vaxxers do include new age homeopathic medicine-taking hippie dooshbags. I think those count as leftists.

Bill Maher would probably be a good example of this. He dedicates a significant portion of his career to mock religious people for being irrational and yet he often denies germ theory. (IDK. where he stands on vaccines... but the medical views he does express are about as idiotic as antivaxxer stuff).

SkinnyHead:But once we get that consensus, once scientists have arm wrestled over this new explanation and we've tested it up one side and down another and it goes into that core, then we stop arguing about it.

Science welcomes debate. People who try to shut down debate and demand that everyone accept the "consensus" are the ones who are anti-science.

I agree. Let's debate if the Earth is round, or if the Sun is the center of the Solar System.

impaler:The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov

"It is the vote of everyone concerned that decides fundamental issues such as the teaching methods used, or the truth of basic beliefs such as the theory of evolution, or the quantum theory, and not the authority of big-shots hiding behind a non-existing methodology." ~ Paul Feyerabend

The lefties I know that reject vaccines do it because it's "not natural" and "There are too many people anyways" or they read Dr. Sears vaccine book.

The righties I know reject vaccines because it's government intervention, or violating their liberties.

I love the "There are too many people" line coming from men and women that won't get fixed or refuse to use contraception and have 3 or 4 unvaccinated rugrats just sitting there waiting to get infected if exposed.

//Dr. Sears has done more damage to today's children than Dr. Spock...

The mainstream Left/Liberals reject the crazies that insist on spouting idiocy based on willfully ignorant understandings of the subject at hand. The Right elevates them to national office and gives them a microphone.